Indian Ocean countries strive to protect marine turtles

The Environmental Research and Wildlife Development Agency (ERWDA) will hold a workshop on marine turtle conservation in the western Indian Ocean from November 18-22.

The secretariat of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals and the Marine Turtle Specialist Group will cooperate with ERWDA to organise the workshop.
The conference will include a discussion of the status and recovery of marine turtles.

Eighteen countries will take part from the Gulf, Egypt, Eritrea, Pakistan, Iran, Somalia, Yemen and other Red Sea countries. ERWDA Secretary-General Saif Al Ghais said the United Arab Emirates, through ERWDA, sought to promote a regional approach to the conservation of marine turtles in the western Indian Ocean.

"This workshop is being organised to stimulate the development of national expertise in turtle biology, increasing local awareness about marine turtles and their precarious conservation status," he said.

Al Ghais said they would like to encourage a gradual shift in conservation approach from the local to the regional level. "By drawing on the expertise of scientists and administrators, managers of the coastal countries of the region, we hope to strengthen the basic conditions from which a regional marine turtle conservation programme can be developed."

He said in a positive attempt by ERWDA to preserve endangered species of turtles, they collect eggs and hatch them in basins to release them for further breeding in the wild.

"Out of seven, six different turtle species are still found in the United Arab Emirates. The existing species are endangered, therefore the country is making its ultimate effort to preserve them," he said.

Al Ghais added that research would be done in coordination with other international agencies to protect the remaining marine turtles. "Already, ERWDA has conducted a number of studies on marine turtles which were published in scientific magazines," he said.

"On the coastal regions of the UAE, there are two kinds of turtle living - Menkar Al Sakr turtles and green turtles - and these are the two kinds we want to take care of. The marine turtles multiply from March until June because of the cold weather in the coastal region."